"Kariuki spoke when she presided over the launch of a campaign dubbed 'Jitokeze" that also begins 16 days of activism on 16 days Campaign against Gender Based Violence.

"Violence against women and girls is not inevitable", said Rebecca Tavares, Country Representative ad interim for the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

One of the most widespread and devastating human rights violations in the world today is the violence against women and girls. "This, therefore, is to sound a warning to perpetrators out there that no one has the right to abuse another, no matter the situation so violence against women and girls has no justification", she added. The crimes include intimate partner violence, sexual violence and harassment, human trafficking, female genital mutilation and child marriage.

For too many Pacific women, the workplace is unsafe.

White Ribbon is a global campaign that engages men in the quest to end violence against women and girls.

Thousands took to the streets of Madrid on Saturday to protest violence against women, just as Spain reels from a grisly trial over an alleged gang rape.

Yet despite its pervasiveness, violence against women is not inevitable - and it is preventable. "Together, we must challenge the prejudices and inequalities that allow this violence to persist". UNiTE is another initiative that seeks to end violence against women.

Penney Andrews, program manager for Tranquility House, said, "As of November 25, and for the next 16 days, we will incite individuals to take action towards eliminating violence against women". Here in the Pacific, many men within our own organisations have pledged to never commit, condone, or remain silent about violence against women - and our hope is that one day this pledge will ring true for all Pacific men and boys.

Protesters were pleased by the large turnout, calling for an end to gender-based violence both in Chile and around the world, Efe news reported.

The 16 days of activism encompass other significant dates: International Women Human Rights Defenders Day on November 29, World AIDS Day on December 1, and December 6: The National Day of Action and Remembrance on Violence Against Women, which commemorates the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre at l'École Polytechnique in 1989.